Prior to the start of every season, ESPN releases its list of the top-100 players in the NBA as voted on by NBA writers for their site. In the past, there have always been some controversial decisions in the rankings, and 2026- 27 is no different for the Nuggets. Sure, ESPN got one totally right with Nikola Jokic leading the way at number one again for the third straight year. But of course, the rest of the rankings are debatable. And overall, they mean nothing at all.
They're just other writers' opinions. And the fact that former Nugget Peyton Watson made his debut on the list at number 96 after he had one good month is suspect. New Lakers center Walker Kessler played five whole games for the Utah Jazz last year and moved up 25 spots from 98 to 73.
So where did the Nuggets come out? Jokic, as mentioned above, was first. Jamal Murray moved up a well-deserved 25 spots on the back of his first All-NBA Third Team selection, from 46 to 21. And after an injury-riddled season that left him in street clothes for more than half the season, Aaron Gordon fell 24 spots from 40 to 64. That's it. No other Nuggets made the list.
The top-100 rankings don't mean a thing
It's pretty wild that AG dropped so much when he actually had a better season than the prior year, when he was actually on the floor. Gordon averaged 16.2 points versus 14.7, and he averaged one more rebound per game at 5.8 versus 4.8. Make that make sense.
Sure, their rankings are projecting on-court performance and what they think a player will contribute this year, but Gordon has been better each season. Mr. Nugget even showed his three-point acumen by going 10-for-11 and scoring a 50 burger on opening night. But sure, slide down the list he did.
But it's honestly just injuries that slowed the Nuggets down. Christian Braun had a poor season, and he went from 62 to off the board, which is fair. But he was hurt the whole season and never really got healthy. Cameron Johnson went from 67 to unranked, and he too missed considerable time and never fully gelled with his new teammates.
However, Cam was a huge bright spot during Games 5 and 6 in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring 18 in Game 5 while attacking the rim relentlessly, and blowing up for 27 in Game 6 by shooting 5-for-10 from downtown.
Jonas Valanciunas was ranked 87th last year, and that obviously didn't pan out. These rankings don't mean a thing. The Nuggets will still be really good in 2026-27, and that's all that matters.
Add us as a preferred source on Google